Andres Derain's Les Voiles Rouges is valued at $20m

Andres Derain's Les Voiles Rouges is expected to achieve $15m-20m in an evening sale at Sotheby's.

The fauvist masterpiece will lead the impressionist and modern art auction in New York on May 9.

Andres Derain Rouges
Andres Derain was one of the leaders of the fauvist movement

Derain's dealer suggested he travel to London to produce a series of paintings in the early 1900s, in response to Monet's earlier series.

The project resulted in around 30 works.

While the majority feature recognisable landmarks, the present example is believed to have been painted at Greenwich - on a patch of the river less affected by urban sprawl.

Sotheby's Jeremiah Evarts explained to the Telegraph newspaper: "Like the other fauvists Derain was responding to global changes with explosive, vivid colours, and his London paintings are central to that.

"But what marks this work out from the other in the series is that he has found a moment of tranquillity in the midst of what was one of the most bustling rivers of the modern age."

Fauvism was a short-lived movement that followed on from impressionism. It upped the abstraction and introduced intense colours.

Derain and Matisse were its successful proponents.

Claude Monet's Camille a l'ombrelle verte is among the other highlights, with an estimate of $9m-12m.

It shows the artist's wife in their garden in Argenteuil.

We have this signed letter by Claude Monet for sale.

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